’’I don’t know anything about these reports. Under normal procedure, he (Ballali) was supposed to send me such a letter of resignation which I have clearly not received,’’ Ms Meghji said.

The finance minister said she only learnt about the reports of Ballali’s resignation from morning newspapers yesterday.

’’As far as I know, the governor is currently sick I cannot make any comment until I get an official resignation letter from him,’’ she stated.

She added: ’’Even though he (Ballali) has been sick for sometime now, I am not aware of any immediate plans by the government to replace him.’’

Ms Meghji also announced that the much-anticipated audit findings on the BoT’s external payment arrears account payments during 2005/06 would soon be released by the Controller and Auditor General (CAG).

When contacted for comment, State House director of communications Salva Rweyemamu also said he had not received any official information about the reports of Ballali’s resignation.

Latest reports reaching THISDAY say close friends of Ballali have advised him to remain in the United States, where he has been hospitalised for the past three months at a Boston medical centre.

In his absence, the central bank has been under the leadership of its two recently-appointed deputy governors, Juma Reli and Prof. Benno Ndulu.

Meanwhile, reacting to the reports of Ballali’s resignation, prominent CHADEMA legislator Dr Wilbrod Slaa appeared to welcome the news but said he was hardly surprised.

Even so, Slaa - deputy leader of the official opposition in the National Assembly and also an outspoken critic of alleged massive funds misuse at the BoT - said the government should ensure Ballali returns to the country to answer multiple allegations of corruption against him.

’’He must come back home to answer all the charges against him,’’ declared Slaa.

The 64-year-old Ballali has been the central bank governor since 1998, and was serving his second term in the post before scheduled official retirement next year.

A long-time employee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ballali was stationed in Washington for some 20 years, being heavily involved in structural adjustment programmes for several African countries.

He first joined the BoT in 1967 as an economist, and quickly climbed the ladder to the post of senior economist (1972) and director of research (1973-76).

From 1976, he started working with the IMF in Washington DC, and later headed IMF missions in countries like Ghana and Zimbabwe.

Between 1997 and 1998, he was economic adviser to then president Benjamin Mkapa at State House, before being appointed to replace Dr Idris Rashidi as BoT governor.

But despite this impressive resume, Ballali has also been linked to allegations of widespread corruption during his almost decade-long stint in the central bank’s pilot seat.

Eggen said many Muslims visit his farm to buy sheep, and claimed he had a routine for avoiding any illegal activity.

"I help the new owners kill the animal they have bought. It is not leagl to cut the throat of a live animal in Norway, so I shoot the sheep in the forehead first. I tell the Muslims that the sheep has had a mild anesthetic. I don't think they understand that the animal is dead after I use the rifle. Afterwards the Muslims cut the sheep's throat. When it is done this way the animal bleeds the right way, according to the Muslims. In fact today I had a whole family come for a halal butchering, and they had a little ceremony together," the farmer said.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Tvedt can be convicted for his anti-Semitic remarks in an interview with newspaper VG in the summer of 2003.

The Vigrid leader told VG, among other things, that "we want to take power in society, cleanse out the Jews and send the immigrants out of the country".

Earlier this year Tvedt was acquitted by the Court of Appeals, which ruled that the remarks were extremely derogatory and insulting but that freedom of speech carried more weight, and that the remarks were not insulting enough to be covered by 'paragraph 135', Norway's anti-racism law.

The new ruling makes Tvedt eligible for punishment and will open the way for new trials.

The Supreme Court ruled that although freedom of speech must have wide parameters, "there is a limit to grave insults that can be tolerated in public, by society".

"It must be taken into consideration that Tvedt here does not only express his own opinions, but appears as leader and spokesman for an active organization composed of young people preparing themselves for the 'war' he describes. This makes the statements more threatening and frightening than if he was speaking exclusively on his own behalf," the Supreme Court ruled.

The ruling also compared Tvedt's remarks to those of the leader of neo-Nazi group Boot Boys, who was acquitted in 2002 in a similar case, on the grounds that his insults were so stereotyped as to be without content. Tvedt's remarks were considered to be concrete threats.

Obiora, 48, died after four policemen put him in a chokehold and forced him to the ground on his stomach at a public office in Trondheim.

The new investigation, sparked by widespread protest after an internal police investigation found no wrongdoing, concluded that there are no grounds to prosecute the police officers involved in the arrest.

The Attorney General writes that the arrest situation was such that it was permissible to use such dangerous methods. A central issue has been to what extent the officers realized that the application of such force could result in death.

The Police Academy has said that forcing a subject to the ground on their stomach is standard procedure in the arrest of uncooperative people, and that knowledge about the choking mechanism was not widely known at the Academy, the Police Directorate or even health personnel before the Obiora case.

The new report concludes that enough doubt exists about what the officers could or should have understood about the deterioration of Obiora's condition, and so insufficient evidence to support a prosecution.

The conclusion is in line with that of the Special unit for police affairs, which investigated the Obiora arrest twice.

Lawyer Abid Q. Raja has taken up the case for Obiora's next of kin, and based the demand for a prosecution of willful murder based on the Norwegian-Nigerian being choked twice, once in the office, and one more time outside.

The case has generated considerable public outcry, with demonstrations and actions keeping the controversy alive.

The reason is that the European aircraft producer claims there is no real competition for the contract, and that the Norwegian authorities are favouring the US producedJoint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Eurofighter has made its decision known in a letter to Undersecretary of State Espen Barth Eide, stating that they have withdrawn from the competition for supplying new jet fighters to Norway for the time being.

At the same time, the consortium has also withdrawn from the competition to supply new jet fighters to the Royal Danish Air Force for much the same reason.

Barth Eide has refuted Eurofighters claims of unfair competition.

In addition to Eurofighter and JSF, the Swedish JAS Gripen has been also been competing for the contract to supply Norway with new jet fighters.

Cancellations: Provisions, hotel accommodation if necessary. Choice of refund or rerouting of ticket.

Standard compensation of between 250-600 euros, depending on distance of flight. Airlines are exempted from paying compensation if they can document that the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances.

Delays: A flight delay over two hours entitles you to provisions, and hotel accommodation if necessary. A delay of over five hours entitles a refund of the ticket price, if the journey is not taken.

About 70,000 passengers can be affected by the difficult weather conditions.

"There is no change weather-wise here this morning. It is -11C (12F) on the ground and 5C (41F) at 3,000 feet, so we are getting a great deal of humidity. This humidity becomes ice on the engines. With no wind, there is no indication that the weather will change, and the delays will continue through the day," said OSL information chief Jo Kobro at 8 a.m. on Friday.

Kobro urged passengers to contact their airlines and turn up early. At 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning most planes had left on schedule but several of the day's departures are already canceled or delayed.

Gardermoen was hit by a combination of cold and fog all of Thursday, and with iced engines there were few takeoffs. On Friday morning only ten planes an hour were being allowed to take off.

"It looks to be a relatively chaotic day," said information chief Thomas Midteide in SAS Norway. "We are doing everything we can to get people home for Christmas, but if the planes don't get permission to leave the ground it is difficult."

Midteide said that buses and other alternatives would be taken into use if necessary.

Frustrated passengers told Aftenposten.no had spent the night on the floor in the departure hall and other places.

"At 1:30 a.m. SAS announced over the loudspeakers that their staff were tired after working 13 hours in a row so they had to close and get some sleep," a passenger said around 3 a.m. on Friday. "There is no food or bottled water and there is no one from SAS to ask for information."

At 6:3o a.m. the same passenger was on the airport train, returning to Oslo.

"I have spent the night on a stone floor and now I have given up. I am infuriated by such incredibly bad service. The queue went through the entire airport. People have been sleeping on baggage carts. Families with small children have spent the night there, you feel terribly sorry for them," the passenger told Aftenposten.no.

"There have been many passengers overnight at Gardermoen. In the end it was impossible to find hotel rooms for them, so they had to use benches and whatever at the airport. We offered them what we had," Kobro told news agency NTB.

Ballali bows out:

Cites major health reasons

THE long-beleaguered governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Dr Daudi Ballali, has resigned.

Government sources confirmed to THISDAY yesterday that Ballali quietly tendered his resignation letter to President Jakaya Kikwete on Wednesday this week, citing serious health reasons.

’’The governor cites complications in his medical condition following major surgery as the main reason for his resignation,’’ a source said, adding: ’’It is expected that the president will accept his resignation without too much ado’’.

According to other government sources, Ballali is understood to have met with Mr Kikwete during the president’s latest trip to the United States hardly a week ago.

The erstwhile central bank supremo, whose resignation after seven years at the helm comes on the back of a raft of corruption allegations against him, has reportedly been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Boston, US for the past three months-plus.

He is reported to have left the country for the States before the start of a special audit on the BoT, ordered in the wake of suspicions of serious improprieties in the external payment arrears account.

For the better part of this year, Ballali had been battling against allegations of personal involvement in the apparently massive funds misuse at the BoT.

He has also faced increasingly-loaded questions over issues like the ever-ballooning costs of the BoT Twin Towers construction project; excessive legal fees paid out by BoT amounting to billions of shillings; and hefty but dubious payments to the now-defunct Meremeta Gold Mine Company Limited, Tangold, Mwananchi Gold Company and the Alex Stewart Asseyers audit firm.

But at a news conference in Dar es Salaam back in July, he declared that the allegations against him were ’’malicious lies and fabrications’’, while steadfastly refusing to step down as governor.

There are reports that the Controller and Auditor-General, Ludovick Utuoh, will soon be submitting to the government the much-awaited BoT external payment arrears account audit report.

The government has been under growing pressure from its various development partners to act on the widespread allegations of corruption at the BoT and elsewhere. Some partners have also publicly threatened the government with delays in disbursement of aid if decisive action was not taken in this regard.

There was no immediate comment from State House or the Ministry of Finance on Ballali’s reported resignation.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

PCCB boss at centre of media

smear campaign

HOSEA: Has said he remains unfazed by the allegations being made against him

THISDAY REPORTERDar es Salaam

THE Director General of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), Dr Edward Hosea, appears to have become the primary target of an intense mudslinging campaign as the battle to tackle high-level corruption in the country gathers pace.

And according to THISDAY findings, a section of the local media has become embroiled in the elaborate scheme to smear the images of both Hosea in person and the PCCB as an institution.

It is now understood that a group of local businessmen at the centre of ongoing corruption investigations being conducted by the Bureau, have been circulating various allegations against the PCCB boss through the Internet and some local newspapers.

The businessmen have reportedly hired the services of a currently out-of-work media practitioner in Dar es Salaam to coordinate the campaign, and have been sponsoring the circulation of an email message with the subject title ’Kashfa nzito PCCB’ (Major scandal at PCCB).

’’Several journalists have been offered up to 500,000/- to publish the allegations against Hosea in their newspapers after the email was copied to all major media houses in the country,’’ an impeccable source told THISDAY.

It has also come to light that in a new email message surfacing this week, journalists are roundly criticised for failing to conduct proper investigative research and publish the allegations against Hosea.

In the smear campaign apparently aimed at discrediting his reputation, the PCCB boss and government’s chosen corruption czar is directly accused of not only diverting Bureau funds for personal use, but also alleged to own mansions in both Dar es Salaam and the United States.

He is further alleged to be on the payroll of certain, unspecified business interests.

And the latest email message, from a sender identified only as ’’Nyerere Hayati’’ (The late Nyerere), says Hosea is finalising preparations to ’’fly to the US to spend Christmas and New Year holidays at his castle, using funds allocated to the Bureau (PCCB) for fighting corruption.’’

At a budget support review meeting in Dar es Salaam last month, some representatives of the donor community are reported to have raised concern about the allegations, obliging Hosea himself to take to the floor and give a statement.

Although the PCCB boss was yesterday not available to make further comment to THISDAY, he has already told at least one local newspaper that he remained unfazed by the attacks.

And contacted by phone in Dodoma yesterday, a close aide of Hosea asserted that the allegations being levelled against the Bureau’s top man would not deter them in their responsibilities to fight corruption.

Still, apart from one or two major cases, the PCCB has remained largely criticised for failing to register any real progress in fighting high-level corruption in the country.

Hosea himself has been calling for patience, citing several ongoing investigations against grand corruption including multiple allegations of graft at the Bank of Tanzania, mining contracts, the military radar scandal and several others.

"This applies primarily to those immigrants who have the greatest problems entering the job market. We are not talking about Swedes," Røys said, and pointed out that even though immigrant unemployment is dropping, the gap between jobless Norwegians and out of work immigrants remains large.

The final regulatory framework for the quotas will be set by January 9 when the test begins.

The 12 state operations involved in the have been chosen because they have many employees and so a certain turnover in their workforce.

The Norwegian State Housing Bank and the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Organization (NAV) also have a geographic spread with several regional offices across the country. The NPD is located in Stavanger while the others are in Oslo.

"We are setting an example. I am a state employer. So we will lead the way and take the responsibility that we want others to take as well," Røys said.

The red ring is the proposed inner Oslo toll ring, the gold bar show the outer toll ring.Photo: Statens vegvesen/JBV

Capital motorists may

get more tolls

The transport proposal "Oslopakke 3", from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and the Norwegian National Rail Administration (JBV), could mean a range of new fees for drivers.

Proposals include a toll charge for leaving as well as entering the capital, moving the toll ring, and introducing more toll booths. The plan was submitted to the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday and will now go to a hearing.

Authorities believe that rush hour automobile traffic into Oslo must be reduced, public transport must be improved and that sidewalks and bicycle paths must be given extra priority.

The report's conclusions are controversial as they challenge and reject earlier proposals that have been ratified at the local political level.

If the new plans are carried out, the present system of toll booths will be replaced by two new rings of booths around the capital.

One ring will enclose downtown Oslo, and will cost NOK 15 (USD 2.70) to pass, with a double charge during rush hour (6-9 a.m. and 15-18 p.m.) - each way. At night and during evenings there will be no toll charges.

This central toll ring will be placed much like it is today. A second ring is proposed to run along the city limits - Kolbotn in the south, Sandvika in the west and Groruddalen in the north. This toll will cost NOK 5 to pass, again double during rush hour. Heavy vehicles will pay twice as much as passenger vehicles.

"It is important that road users contribute to the stimulation of public transport. This is the best measure to reduce traffic growth and create space on the road network," said Norwegian Public Roads Administration regional director Sidsel Sandelien.

Thorough search in the

UDI records for

possible war criminals

In the course of the recent years, there has been increased attention concerning the investigation of war criminals, also in Norway. There are several persons residing in Norway who come from countries where serious war crimes have been commited. These are persons who have had cases with the immigration authorities.

The Higher Prosecuting Authority for the combat of organised and serious crimes, together with The National Bureau of Crime Investigation (Kripos) have raised up the question of going through the UDI's records. The aim is to examine the possibilties of finding information on personsa who may have participated in war crimes. This can evetually lead to further investigation of such persons.

A conclusion on a pilot projct was made at a meeting between the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion (AID), the Ministry of Justice and the Police, The Higher Prosecuting Authority, Kripos and the UDI earlier this autumn. The project is to go through about 200 cases from the UDI's records. This will be cases from Bosnia in the 1990's.

A pilot project such as this will give an idea about what it will take, both in terms of resources and other factors, to go through a greater number of cases both from the Balkans and from other parts of the world. On the basis of this, a decision will be made on a more extensive search of the UDI records.

Although Mr Zuma is likely to become the next national president he could still face corruption charges in connection with a multi-million dollar arms deal.

Almost 4,000 ANC members began queuing early on Tuesday to cast their votes for the leadership.

Mr Mbeki arrived to cast his vote shortly after lunch. Asked how his campaign was going, he replied: "So far so good".

The single polling station opened two hours late after a delay with the printing of ballot papers.

Correspondents say it has been the most divisive contest in the long history of the ANC - for some this is a sign of a healthy democracy in action while others fear the split in the ANC could spell trouble for South Africa.

Delegates were warned to behave or face disciplinary action on Monday after rival supporters tried to out-sing each other amid chaotic scenes.